Why the offside rule is ‘delayed’ and will it change after Taiwo Awoniyi incident?

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Taiwo Awoniyi’s serious abdominal injuries, sustained when attempting to score for Nottingham Forest against Leicester City last weekend, have caused the debate about the ‘delayed offside’ rule to resurface.

The 27-year-old striker collided with one of the goal posts at the City Ground as he desperately tried to put Forest ahead late in the match and strengthen their Champions League qualification claims. Anthony Elanga, who had crossed the ball, was subsequently flagged for what seemed like a clear offside after the move ended.

Awoniyi was assessed pitchside and allowed to play on by medical staff for the final seven minutes of the 2-2 draw — which caused controversy as he was clearly in pain but could not be replaced as Forest had already used their three substitution windows for the game.

The Athletic explains why there is a directive to allow attacks to play out and be reviewed by VAR at their conclusion, the key questions it raises, and whether there are any alternatives.

What is the delayed offside rule?

A protocol relating to offside was introduced by the International Football Association Board (IFAB), football’s worldwide lawmakers, for the 2020-21 Premier League season, following the introduction of the video assistant referee (VAR).

While the law did not change, assistant referees were told to keep their flags down if they felt there was an immediate scoring opportunity, to prevent attacks being wrongly stopped when there was the potential for a goal.

The IFAB VAR Protocol procedures state: “Delaying the flag/whistle for an offence is only permissible in a very clear attacking situation when a player is about to score a goal or has a clear run into/towards the opponents’ penalty area.

“If an assistant referee delays a flag for an offence, the assistant referee must raise the flag if the attacking team scores a goal, is awarded a penalty kick, free kick, corner kick or throw-in, or retains possession of the ball after the initial attack has ended; in all other situations, the assistant referee should decide whether or not to raise the flag, depending on the requirements of the game.”

Why is it controversial?

Since its inception, the protocol has been criticised for needlessly creating situations that could potentially lead to an injury.

Before Awoniyi’s episode last weekend, there had been other incidents. In fact, Leicester defender Conor Coady and Forest head coach Nuno Espirito Santo have witnessed one before, when they were playing for and managing Wolverhampton Wanderers respectively during a March 2021 match against Liverpool.

Wolves’ goalkeeper Rui Patricio was carried off on a stretcher following 15 minutes of on-field treatment after a clash of heads with team-mate Coady as they attempted to stop Mohamed Salah putting the ball in the net for Liverpool. A flag was then raised to rule out Salah’s apparent goal.

(Jason Cairnduff – Pool/Getty Images)

Manchester City’s defender John Stones and goalkeeper Ederson were also hurt in different games but similar circumstances last season, prompting City’s captain Rodri to say: “We have an injury because of this situation we are trying to fix in the last years. It is ridiculous. There are lots of injuries in this situation. So we have to check if it’s the best option to follow the game.”

However, the counterargument is that if the protocol were removed and assistants encouraged to flag immediately if they felt there was an offside, there would be more errors that could rule out potential goals and that would create more controversy when television replays expose those mistakes.

Managers, players and pundits would be critical as well if a goalscoring opportunity was ruled out accidentally by an early flag.

What role did it play in the Awoniyi incident?

Assistant Sian Massey-Ellis made a split-second decision to allow play to carry on, although Elanga must have seemed offside. She was in a good position, but per the protocol, chose to keep her flag down.

Had she raised it, it’s almost certain that play would have stopped and Awoniyi would not have ended up colliding with the post, as the move originated just over the halfway line.

What have the managers and PFA said?

Leicester manager Ruud van Nistelrooy, who was one of Europe’s top strikers in his playing days for Manchester United and Real Madrid around two decades ago, questioned the protocol.

“When it’s so clear, then put the flag up,” he told reporters after Sunday’s match. “When you are in doubt and you know you have the VAR to check to be sure, good, I understand it, but I think if it’s obvious, clear and obvious, put the flag up and stop the players sprinting 30, 40, 50 metres and stop moments like that (Awoniyi’s injury).”

Ruud van Nistelrooy (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Earlier on Friday, Nuno also called for more to be done to avoid such incidents.

“The law is like that,” he said in his pre-game press conference for Sunday’s visit to West Ham United. “You cannot blame the ref (and match official). They just follow the guidance. It was a clear offside. The players have the instruction to play to the whistle.

“Unfortunately, it happened.

“Since this law came, there were immediately some concerns about these aspects of the game. Serious things can happen because of the law. There could be a red card after an offside. How can you control these situations? They’re aware, but it’s about the law. The law cannot change now. But it is about the guidance. Now it is about that. Let us try to avoid (these incidents).”

The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), the players’ trade union in the English game, has not yet commented publicly but has been checking on the condition of Awoniyi through Forest’s PFA delegate and staff at the club. It also plans to speak to Awoniyi, Forest, PGMOL (the organisation that runs the officiating of matches in England) and possibly even IFAB to get their observations before discussing what lessons need to be learned from Sunday’s incident.

What would be the process for it to be changed?

The VAR protocol over delayed flags can only be changed if IFAB, which sets the international laws of the game, decides there is an issue.

However, the protocol already states it is at the assistant’s discretion and that they can flag if they believe a player is clearly offside. In this case, it seems Massey-Ellis was not certain, so allowed play to carry on.

An IFAB spokesman said: “We were very sorry to hear about Taiwo Awoniyi’s injury and join the football world in wishing him a speedy recovery.

“Prior to the introduction of VAR, there was considerable frustration when a forward who was clear on goal was flagged offside, only for replays to later show they were actually onside.

“When the VAR protocol was being developed in 2016, there were strong requests from all stakeholders to avoid such situations.

“However, mindful of the potential risk of collision between the attacker and goalkeeper, the VAR protocol states that raising the flag (or blowing the whistle for a foul or handball) should be delayed only for ‘tight/difficult’ decisions — that is, when the referee or assistant has some doubt.

“This guidance is regularly communicated to match officials, and in the case of the PGMOL, was most recently published at the beginning of this season.”

Semi-automated offsides, which have been trialled this season in the Premier League and FA Cup, will not affect the decision-making as the technology is only used to speed up the VAR process after a goal is apparently scored. However, it may influence assistants in terms of keeping their flags down even more, to avoid making a mistake.

Without a clear alternative, it is likely the protocol will remain, as the concern is that, should the game return to assistants flagging immediately if they suspect a player is offside, it would expose match officials to even more criticism if replays then reveal they got it wrong and denied an obvious goalscoring opportunity.

It may not be perfect, but IFAB and FIFA, football’s worldwide governing body, are expected to decide that the protocol is the best option, meaning the debate will carry on.

(Top photo: Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images)

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